Is it just me, or is the information for trains in Europe confusing? All I want to do is inquire online how much it costs to travel from Bologna to Rome in November. I can't seem to find it. They give me too many options!! Multi-day passes, train/car options, Eurorail, Eurostar,... Help!
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9110 posts
According to www.trenitalia.com, the fare for second class is 50 Euros.
Posted by
Manchester
497 posts
If you only want this one trip then you can ignore most of the things you've posted about.
Trenitalia is the Italian railway site, you can do timetable and price searches here. Apparently American credit cards won't let you buy on-line (not sure about Canadian) but unless you see an advance discounted fare there is no problem buying tickets at the station.
To see if I can break down some of your confusion.
Multi-day pass These allow you to make unlimited train journeys within their validity period. Like any 'unlimited' pass - cinema, parking, theme park, etc. - you need to get a certain amount of use to make it worth while. Bologna to Rome is about €50 so don't buy a pass if it costs more.
Train/car options Do want need a car as well? If not ignore, if yes see if it's a good price.
Eurorail is just the name of rail pass marketed to non-Europeans, they are not a train company or anything.
Eurostar is just the brand name of the Italian long distance, high speed trains. They're run by Trenitalia like the other Italian trains; generally they cost more but are quicker - you pays your money you takes your choice.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
It looks like you are spending time on Rail Europe. For train schedules and fares in Italy, nothing is better than www.trenitalia.com. It's their trains. CLICK HERE to see a typical morning train schedule for 11/24. You can see the fares. For these runs, Trenitalia doesn't show the R trains which are slower, make more stops and are half the 50.40Euro. The travel time is double. If you want more information on R train schedules, message me and I'll show you schedules.
Please do not consider a rail pass for Italy. P2P tickets are less expensive. Also, Italy charges a seat reservation fee to ride the Eurostars. For the ES-AV trains you see on the linked schedule, it's 20Euros. The P2P fares that you see on the link include seat reservations.
Posted by
Toronto, Canada
28 posts
I too found it confusing before I went, but once you get there it's much less confusing! In the train stations they have self-serve kiosks where you can check routes and prices before you pay.
If you have a rail pass though, you must wait in the line at the Rome train station to book in person (I assume it's the same going the other way from Bologna to Rome). I didn't have a pass and my one way 1st class ticket from Rome to Venice was 104 Euros. So I assume that a ticket Bologna to Rome would be about...80Euros?
The information is less confusing once you get there. Really! :-) And I found it very efficient and economical to use the subway system in Rome. Was really impressed with how easy it was to get around!